Exploring Fatalism in Adolescents

SEPTEMBER 2014

Ryk BrinkMarietjie OswaldMariechen Perold

Fatalism• argued to be a cognitive phenomenon constituting of specific beliefs in

the individual,• beliefs may consist of a combination of the following: (a) the

individual’s perceived lack of (internal) control over external events in his or her life

• notions of fate, luck, destiny and predetermination of a specific circumstance or set of circumstances

• perceptions of powerlessness, hopelessness, and meaninglessness due to negative outcomes of specific circumstances

• A given combination of such beliefs could be described as a fatalistic mind-set.

• The existence of a fatalistic mindset conjures with nihilism as a social-psychological phenomenon

History

• Historically viewed from the perspective of philosophy, theology and social psychology

• Beliefs about external locus of control • Beliefs about “chance”• Specific description by Barbara Powe of a

fatalistic mind-set with regard to the mind-set of cancer patients.

Why the research was done• argued to be a cognitive phenomenon constituting of specific beliefs in

the individual,• beliefs may consist of a combination of the following: (a) the

individual’s perceived lack of (internal) control over external events in his or her life

• notions of fate, luck, destiny and predetermination of a specific circumstance or set of circumstances

• perceptions of powerlessness, hopelessness, and meaninglessness due to negative outcomes of specific circumstances

• A given combination of such beliefs could be described as a fatalistic mind-set.

• The existence of a fatalistic mindset conjures with nihilism as a social-psychological phenomenon

Research Questions

• What are the possible manifestations of fatalism in adolescents?

• How does fatalism possibly colour their lived experiences?

• How does adolescent fatalism possibly affect educational attainment in adolescents?

This studyRESEARCH DESIGN• QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY

DESIGN• INTERPRETIVE PARADIGM

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK• SOCIAL-COGNITIVE LEARNING

THEORY• COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

DATA ANALYSIS• QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS

DATA COLLECTION• CREATIVE STRATEGY PHASE• FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS• PERSONAL INTERVIEWS

INTEGRATION OF THE DATA• OPEN AND AXIAL CODING• THEMES

DISCUSSION OF THE DATA

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:• VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION• PERSONAL/PARENTAL CONSENT OR

ASSENT.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

(B)BEHAVIOUR

Motor responsesVerbal responsesSocial interactions

(P)PERSON

Cognitive abilitiesPhysical

characteristicsBeliefs and attitudes

(E)

ENVIRONMENTPhysical

surroundingsFamily and Friends

Other social influences

BANDURA’S MODEL OF RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM (TRIADIC RECIPROCAL CAUSATION)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKBECK’S HIERARCHY OF COGNITION

Core beliefs

Intermediate beliefs (rules, attitudes and assumptions)

Situation

Automatic thoughts

Reaction (emotional, behavioural and

psychological)

PERCEIVED REALITY / LIVED EXPERIENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL.(Personal, social and demographic factors, beliefs, perceptions about the self and others)

CORE BELIEFS:• DETERMINISM• CHANCE / LUCK

INTERMEDIATE BELIEFS e.g.:EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL,NIHILISM

COGNITION: application of core and immediate beliefs to the perceived reality / lived experience

FATALISM: result of interpretation of perceived reality / lived experience (inter alia ANGST)

FATALISTIC RESPONSE: EMOTIONAL (Angst, etc.)BEHAVIOURAL (Coping etc.)PSYCHOLOGICAL (Depression etc.)

SAMPLE

• Purposive and Convenience sampling• 164 grade 11 learners from five schools in the

Western Cape• Schools selected according to the national

quintiles (rated according to the income of the school population)

CREATIVE STRATEGY

• “This T-shirt cries out for you to fill the empty space with something that is so YOU….something that tells the world how you feel about life right now.”

FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS• How would you describe the world you live in

today?• How does your description of the world make

you feel?• What is it that makes you do things in a

specific way or informs the decisions you take?

FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS EXPLORING RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL DETERMINISM• What is it that makes you do things in a specific way or

informs the decisions you take?• If you agree with the idea that a higher power determines

how your life is going to work out; do you think that this higher power’s will is stronger than your will and determines the choices you are going to make?

• What do you feel about the idea that there may be a larger plan for your life that you cannot go against and determines how your life will work out?

QUESTIONS EXPLORING BELIEF IN FREE WILL OR CHANCE• How do you feel about the idea that one is absolutely

free to make one’s own decisions?• How do you understand the idea that some people

are luckier than others?• How do you feel about the following statement? I

have an influence on the way my life will turn out.

FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS EXPLORING SOCIAL DETERMINISM• What do you think about the idea that one can do absolutely as you please and

the opinions and influence of others have no influence in the choices you make.• Do you think that your gender influences the choices you are allowed to make in

South Africa? • Do you think that your race influences the choices that you are allowed to make

in South Africa?• Do you think that your wealth and social status have an influence on the choices

you are allowed to make?• which you were brought up with certain customs and traditions influencing the

decisions you are allowed to make?

Findings

• Fatalism seems to be a cognitive mind-set, consisting of a combination of specific beliefs.

• A cognitive mind-set is a specific combination of beliefs through which the world is interpreted and according to which behaviour is shaped.

• Fatalistic beliefs can be deterministic, in other words, they are seen as external influences that take control away from the individual and render him/her powerless to affect any change or improvement.

• POSITIVE BELIEFS Life is good• “Tevrede met dit wat na my kant toe kom” / “Satisfied with what comes my

way” (A4)

• NEGATIVE BELIEFS Life is bad• “When people put you under pressure you feel that you can’t get out.

Then you would rather do nothing and think: OK, then I’ll just leave everything” (A7)

• AMBIVALENT BELIEFS Life is confusing / negative and positive

• “Life is very confusing…I must make decisions and I am scared to make decisions” (A49)

BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE

BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Beliefs about God and religion

• Beliefs about God’s control over life

• “If God decides that I am going to be [passage unclear] then I am going to

be. It is not that I am lucky”

• Beliefs about a higher power’s predetermined plan

• Beliefs that God has created us with predetermined abilities

and potential

• Beliefs about God as an enabling force in one’s life

• Beliefs about the devil as a disabling force in one’s life

BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Beliefs about the influence of the

environment• Effect of the economic environment• “Your environment influences your decisions – your wealth determines what

you are able to do”

• Beliefs of the social environment• “Sometimes when you are with someone who has a negative attitude

in life, it rubs off on you …you also start to think negatively because you are in their company”

BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Beliefs about the relations between the self and others • Influence of peers• “One cares about someone, then he leaves you because of something on

Facebook and then he makes up shit about you”• Influence of parents• “Sometimes life is difficult. I sometimes feel as if I don’t want to live anymore.

Maybe I should commit suicide. My parents make me struggle with many things. It will be better if I die. I am just in the way. They only see what I am doing wrong”

• Beliefs of the other as a threat to the self• Beliefs of the effect of economic injustice on the self• Beliefs of the effect of racial injustice on the self• Beliefs of the effect of gender inequality on the self

BELIEFS OF SELF-AGENCYBeliefs about self-efficacy• Beliefs of freedom of the will within a greater plan.

• Fixed beliefs about own potential

Beliefs about self- efficacy based on perceptions of others• Beliefs of self-efficacy based on feedback from others• “There are bad things that make you to want to give up – if at home you are not

treated well…if your mother keeps telling you that you’ll never succeed…and then you ask yourself: What am I going to do at school, because my mother already told me that I am not going to succeed. So I will just sit down and do nothing

What are the possible manifestations of fatalism in adolescents?

• Fatalism stemming from beliefs about the self• Fatalism emerging from beliefs about the

influence of others• Fatalism grounded in the physical and social

environments in which adolescents grow up• Fatalism, as influenced by the psycho-neural

and hormonal processes of adolescents

How does fatalism possibly colour their lived experiences?

• Alienation and disengagement• Oppositional behaviour• The creation of feelings of pessimism, anxiety

and depression• Influencing their educational attainment

How does adolescent fatalism possibly affect educational attainment in adolescents?

• Fatalistic thinking leading to low levels of motivation

• Fatalistic thinking as a contributing force in the phenomenon of adolescents leaving the educational system due to disciplinary procedure (oppositional behaviour)

• Fatalism as a social influence on learning (modelling)

REFERENCES• Bandura, A., Caprara , G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Gerbino, M. & Pastorelli, (2003). Role of Affective

Self-regulatory Efficacy in Diverse Spheres of Psycholsocial Functioning. 74(3), 769-782., pp. (769-782)

• Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive Therapy. Basics and Beyond. London: The Guilford Press.• Martin, J. and Sugarman, J. (2002). Agency and Soft Determinism in Psychology. In

Atmanspacher, H. and Bishop, R. (Eds.). (2002). Between Chance And Choice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Determinism. Thorverton: Imprint Academic.

• Ncgobo, D. (1999). Nihilism in Black South Africa: The New South Africa and the Destruction of the Black Domestic Periphery. In Alternation, 6(1), 138-154. Retrieved from http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/docs/06.1/09%20Ngc.pdf.

• Neff J. A, Hoppe S. K. (1993) Race/ethnicity, acculturation, and psychological distress: Fatalism and religiosity as cultural resources. Journal of Community Psychology. 21(1), 3–20.

• Powe, B. D & Johnson, A. (1995). Fatalism as a Barrier to Cancer Screening Among African-Americans: Philosophical Perspectives. Journal of Religion and Health, 34(2), 119-126.

• Powe, B. D. & Finnie, R. (2003). Cancer Fatalism: The State of the Science. Cancer nursing, 26(6), 454–465. Philadelphia: Lippencott Williams and Wilkins.

• Powe, B. D. (1994). Fatalism and Participation in Colorectal Cancer Screening among Poor, Elderly, Black Individuals. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.

• Ward, C., Martin E., Theron, C. & Distiller, G. (2007). Factors affecting resilience in children exposed to violence. South African Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 165–187.

Contact details

• Ryk Brink (primary researcher)rykbrink@gmail.com• Marietjie Oswaldmmoswald@sun.ac.za• Mariechen Peroldmdperold@sun.ac.za• Department of Educational Psychology, Stellenbosch

University.